In recent years, numerous different kinds of anti-theft devices have been developed to render automobiles more difficult to steal. Such devices range from very costly alarm systems equipped with a variety of sophisticated mechanisms for disabling the vehicle to the far less expensive steering wheel locking devices. The ease with which most such devices can be overcome or circumvented, however, has lead to the increasing popularity of automobile recovery devices employing radio transmitters despite their substantial costs and failure to prevent the theft in the first instance.
An automobile protection device should prevent the initial theft of the vehicle, preferably by disabling the vehicle as opposed to merely sounding an alarm. Auto alarms are often ignored and can generally be rather easily deactivated. Those which are more difficult to silence are generally too costly for most car owners and again are frequently ignored due to the frequency of false alarms. An anti-theft device should not only disable the vehicle when activated and be difficult to circumvent but also should be relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install so that most drivers could afford to equip their vehicles with such a device. The anti-theft device of the present invention possesses these attributes.
The automobile anti-theft devices which have been previously developed to provide such protection at a low cost typically employ a form of locking mechanism which disables the vehicle by preventing rotation of the steering wheel when the device is in the locked position. When faced with such devices, a thief will generally break the lock or cut through the steering wheel, depending on the nature of the device, and thereby circumvent the disabling mechanism. Unfortunately, this is usually a relatively simple task even for unsophisticated thieves and both easier and faster than attempting to "pick" the locking mechanism. While a variety of sophisticated yet relatively inexpensive locking mechanisms have been developed which are exceedingly difficult to open without the proper key or combination, the anti-theft devices employing such mechanisms can still be overcome by the appropriate application of a force sufficient to break the locking mechanism. If such devices were as difficult to break as they are to "pick," they would indeed provide excellent protection against automobile theft at a reasonable cost.
An improvement in vehicle anti-theft devices is found in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,151, issued Apr. 7, 1998 and entitled ANTI-THEFT DEVICE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES. The device disclosed therein comprises a locking mechanism carried by and between the vehicle's steering wheel and steering column for selectively engaging and releasing the operative connection of the steering wheel to the steering column. The mechanism includes an outer cylindrical boss which is permanently affixed to the steering wheel and an inner cylindrical boss which is affixed to the extended end of the vehicle's steering column and rotatably disposed within the outer boss such that the outer boss and attached steering wheel are freely rotatable on and about the inner boss. A tamper-proof securement retains the inner boss within the outer boss to prevent unauthorized removal of the steering wheel from the steering column. A locking mechanism which is both tamper-proof and key actuated is provided in the outer boss which, in the locked position, physically couples the outer boss to the inner boss and thus operatively connects the steering wheel to the steering column for controlling the vehicle. In the unlocked position, the coupling of the outer boss to the inner boss provided by the locking mechanism is released, leaving the steering wheel and outer boss attached to but free-wheeling on the inner boss, thus rendering the vehicle uncontrollable by means of the steering wheel and effectively inoperative.
The above-described device represented an improvement over the prior art anti-theft devices. However, if one were to ignore instructions to the contrary and leave the key in the lock during operation of the vehicle, the steering wheel could be disengaged during operation of the vehicle by turning the key to the unlocked position. While such conduct would certainly be reckless, the present invention protects the vehicle's occupants from such an occurrence. In addition, the locking mechanism of the present invention provides a redundant locking mechanism to prevent disengagement of the steering wheel from the steering column in the unlikely event of a failure in the locking bar of the prior mechanism. As a result, the mechanism of the present invention retains the beneficial anti-theft features of the previously developed mechanism while substantially enhancing the locking mechanism therein.